During the week leading up to this event, I knew it was going to be a grind. Last week, the lack of quality rest finally caught up with me and I found myself sicker than a dog. I lost most of my strength and had all I could do to even draw my bow early in the week. As the days progressed, things didn't improve, and by the end of the week, I found myself in Franklin hoping to get any type of relief. I figured if Michale Jordan could have one of the best games of his life in Game 7 of the NBA Finals while running a high fever and being completely under the weather, I might have a chance of doing the same. Although I didn't feel well and had no energy, I still felt mentally strong and confident that nothing would be any different than normal.
Practice Day
We woke up to an awesome morning on Friday. After getting going, we shot some arrows at the target butts, then headed onto the practice range. After seeing the yardage a little long on the first few targets, I made the adjustment and shot really well. However, I never had one target that gave me a sense of confidence with my numbers. I felt like I was subtracting 2-3 yards per target to get the right number. That's never a good feeling. I figured it was probably from not feeling well and being tired after coughing the entire night and not getting much sleep.
After shooting 12-15 targets, we took a break and waited out a nasty thunderstorm. During the storm, I was able to catch up with Ryan Jeffries, and we talked about a few different things, most about shot execution. Ryan is a good guy and has been doing this game as long as me. I always enjoy any time I can spend around him, as conversations always bring positivity and optimism while also staying realistic. Photo courtesy goes to TJ Mitchell, as he listened to the conversation and participated in it too.
After the storm passed, many people went onto their ranges to get at least half of their tournament completed. Having to shoot with our peers on Saturday and Sunday, we decided to head up the road and shoot 20 targets at a local archery club, Rainbow Archery.
The course was set up nicely, and Cole, Jeff and I had a good time. There were plenty of laughs shared, and I felt like the trip to the club was definitely worth it. I was pleased with my numbers and my shooting. At the end of the day, I was absolutely exhausted. I most likely overdid it, but I've never let sickness hold me back from doing the things I love.
Day 1
After waking up, my cough settled in and the congestion in my chest felt like a gorilla was sitting on top of me. After looking at my target assignment, I knew I would have a relaxing day. I would be shooting with people whose company I enjoy, also people I call friends. Tony Tazza, Jeff Hopkins and P.J. McMullen would comprise my group. I've been lucky enough to shoot with Tony a number of times this year so far, and Jeff and I always seem to end up on the same stake. I couldn't ask for better people to shoot with for the day.
The beginning of my day started off well, as I made great shots on a caribou and hogzilla. As we began meandering through the course, I never felt comfortable, but I also never felt overwhelmed. The shadows were really difficult to navigate, and I got a few 8s on targets I had to lead and put the arrows exactly where I wanted to put them. Unfortunately, as you get older, your sense of definition on targets disappears, and I realized I had chosen the wrong spots to aim. I never let it deflate my confidence and kept plugging along.
When we got to the bottom of the range, the new mule deer target was across a slight ravine. It's an awesome target, and I remembered shooting out the top of it in Pipestem. However, as I stood on the stake staring at it, I knew it had some serious yardage on it. Finally, I set my sight, drew the bow, and executed one of my best shots of the weekend. The arrow struck the target a fingernail-width to the left of the 11, and that type of arrow summed up my day. Although I shot six 11s for the day, I had a minimum of six arrows that were less than an inch from it. With exception of the few misplaced arrows due to the shadows, my line was good all day. I was happy with that.
As we turned the corner and headed down the homestretch, I could feel the lack of strength beginning to take over. On top of being worn out, I was also just about mentally spent. I made a few mistakes on the last five targets of the day but ended on a good note when I smoked an inside-out 11 on a bomb of an antelope that was plastered with shadows.
I won't say I was satisfied at the end of the day, but I was sitting in the number 8 hole and found out I hadn't shot myself out of it, even with a major blunder with two targets left. I had a chance going into Day 2 and was only five points out of the shootdown round. At the end of the day, I was mentally exhausted and a physical mess. The cold bore down on me and took hold.
Day 2
When I woke up on Sunday morning, I had no interest in shooting my bow. Instead, I felt like crawling in a hole and staying there. I figured after a week of battling the cold, I would begin to subside. However, there was no clue of that. My voice was all but gone, and my strength wasn't anywhere near normal.
After looking at my target assignment, I learned I would be in the second group, and I would be shooting with Bill McCall, Mike Sutter, and Jeff Hopkins. I sucked down a bunch of cough drops before we started. Luckily, it kept the cough from overtaking me like it had been doing since I woke up.
As we waited to start, Jeff checked the radar on his phone and was ecstatic that he would be getting rain at home in Iowa for his crops. We all know that rain in the Midwest can be hard to come by during many summers, so any rain is a good thing.
He called his son, Scott, before we started, and we had some good fun on speaker phone. I always enjoy Jeff's company. He makes it easy to shoot and creates a laid-back atmosphere for me. I think we sometimes find some people with whom we enjoy shooting, yet there are others that tend to bring us down. Finding a happy medium always makes it nice. If you've been at this game long enough and you're in one of these classes without many people, many of the people become your friends, and it's nice to hang out with them and do what we love to do.
We started the day on a bedded elk. Although it wasn't all that far away, it resembled a real elk. It was bedded in some dark timber, and the ivory tips on its antlers shone brightly in the dark hole. When I drew my bow, the target was difficult to see. However, my arrow found its way to the 11, and I was off to a good start.
A few targets later, I paid the price for assuming my pin was in the right place on a Dahl sheep. I executed a good shot, but the pin must've been too far to the left when I was aiming. The arrow hit behind the pin, but the shadows wreaked havoc.
My goal going into the day was to shoot good, relaxed shots. I accomplished the goal and got the sub-part shooting out of my head from the previous day. I seemed to fall back into my normal type of day. I stayed level through the first 10 targets, and after recording an even score, I felt good about making my way toward the end.
When we got to the end of the road and shot the last target before turning and heading down the other side, I had to lead off a leopard. By all accounts, it was a pretty easy target. Unfortunately, I was too relaxed when I began settling into my shot and the release fired as I was coming down into the 10. I wasn't in the "shooting 10" position before I laid my finger on the trigger, and the release fired. The arrow struck right where the pin was when the shot broke.
After getting my thoughts back in line, I couldn't seem to get anything going coming down the homestretch. I missed a few 11s and barely missed a handful of 10s, hitting them just barely above or below the 10-ring. It just wasn't meant to be. Here's a photo, compliments of Jeff Hopkins. 
I didn't expect anything coming into this shoot due to my health. I just didn't feel well, and I knew I was weak. I didn't figure it would affect much of anything, other than I would be exhausted. I guess in the end, I just wasn't Michael Jordan.
My Final Thoughts on the Weekend
I didn't expect anything coming into this shoot due to my health. I just didn't feel well, and I knew I was weak. I didn't figure it would affect much of anything, other than I would be exhausted. I guess in the end, I just wasn't Michael Jordan.
I enjoyed myself over the weekend, even though I struggled mightily with a lot of things. I've never had many issues judging yardage, so I'm not sure if it was from having a cloudy head from being sick, or if it was just one of those weekends that you run into every now and then.
I was happy to see Justin Martin break his streak in Open Pro and make it into the shootdown round, where he finished in third. We have an ongoing joke because we probably hold records between the two of us for the most sixth place finishes ever. It seems we are always the first guy out of the shootdown rounds. Well, that was me again. I finished in sixth. Once again, as I always say, yeah it's great, but it also sucks. When you're competing against the best of the best, you have to perform better than your average, and you have to have a few lucky bounces along the way. I feel like I'm on the edge of having one of these tournaments bring out more than my average. My average performances have never felt like winning performances, and I haven't had a winning performance in a while, but it's lurking. I've always told people that the only way you can succeed is to put yourself in a position to succeed. I've been knocking on the door for a while. Every year seems to get a little more difficult due to the things you encounter with aging, but I know I still have game in there somewhere.
I had a great time with the people I shared the stake with over the weekend. They were all great people, and I appreciate them and their professionalism. They all have the ability to laugh and joke and have fun while shooting. That makes the crappy days seem a lot better. I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing to shoot a score as bad as the one I shot and still finish near the top or if it's a kick in the ass that it's unacceptable. I'll have to think on that one for a bit. I guess if scores were all that low, they were that low for a reason.
I'll keep plugging along and try to shed this sickness. It just doesn't seem that it wants to let go. It hasn't made shooting very easy, and it also isn't enjoyable. I've had about enough of it and would like to get back to feeling better.
I'd like to give a shoutout to Jake LaFontaine and Christine Bushey. They both shot very well, Christine came home as the FBO champion of the tournament. Great job, Christine. It's been a pleasure to watch and root for you. Keep it going. I couldn't leave out Payson Reinhardt, who doesn't have much time to shoot since he focuses on college, but he came home with the title of Semi-pro champion for this event. That is quite an accomplishment. Congratulations, Payson.
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